Here is the bag before any painting. It is a good bag and just fine the way it is, but I was determined to have a watermelon bag, lol.

I found these 3 great colors from Folk Art in Pink Melon, Citrus Green and Classic Green. I thought they were the perfect watermelon color!

but before you start to paint measure your bag. You to make sure that you have about 2/3 of be bag in pink and the rest in green. But this is just a guess, use your eye to make a good judgement as to how much of each color.

Then start painting. I started with the pink then went on to the greens. I painted in broad strokes and left the strokes in each of the colors as I painted. I didn’t want it too blended, I was going for a casual vibe. You can always blend more if that is your style.

You can leave it with out the seeds, but I thought the bag needed them. I just painted them on using a paint pen.

I am loving how it turned out! What fruit bags are you going to make this summer?

Instructions

As you can see in this pic I have the flip flops numbered. I did a terrible job of taking pics while was filming, lol, but I think you can get the idea of what I did from the pic. I used the loctite plastic glue on all the flip flops.

Flip Flop #1

I did want to take away from the pretty design, just enhance it. So for his pair I just glued on some pom-pom trim.

Flip Flop #2

Feathers! This is such a cute, boho idea. Just glue one a pile of feathers, I got mine from the dollar store, but you can get them from almost any craft store.

Flip Flop #3

This is a fun free form design using stickles. Just draw your design and let it dry and you have a fantastic pair of flip flops

Flip Flop #4

Take a large flower and glue it to the top of the shoe. To help keep the flower in place while it was drying I used some clothes pins to keep it in place.

Flip Flop #5

For this pair I disassembled an old statement necklace and glued the pieces on to the flip flop. Just make sure you rough up the metal so it sticks to the plastic.

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Create a Purse from an old VHS Tape

What do you do with all those old VHS tapes? Why you create a purse! Perfect way to add some interest to your outfit!

Hello Everyone!

I am almost embarrassed to admit, but I still have a lot of VHS tapes laying around my house. I hate to toss them, but I have no way of playing them (I don’t even own a VHS player…) So what do I with this pile of tapes? I decided to create a purse!

I will admit that is project did not turn out exactly how I envisioned it. But it did turn out cute and the next one will be better! In the instructions I will tell you what I did and how I will make it better next time, that way you can create it at home with out all my struggles, lol

Materials:

VHS tape

screw driver

cutters

fabric, buttons, trim

super glue

Instructions:

First you find an old VHS tape. If you no longer have one in your stash you can find them at thrift stores, or ask around I am sure someone has one somewhere.

This is the fun part. Unscrew all the screws and open the tape. Take out the innards and safe them, they will work great for a mixed media project. Next you want to cut off the plastic bits that are sticking up. This is one area that I messed up, I cut too much off the bottom and it doesn’t seal (there is a tiny hole in the bottom. Just be careful and you should be good.

Then I glued some faux leather fabric on one side, in hindsight I probably should have glued it to both sides, but I wanted to see the clear windows still. I think I can make this a little better next time.

Glue hinges so that you can open and close your purse. Try not to glue your fingers to the tape, lol (I may or may not have done the, lol) Also try not to glue the hinge shut, it takes a lot of careful prying if you happen to glue the hinge (once again I may or may not have done the, lol)

Then I added a decorated bottle cap and some string to secure the purse closed. Next time I will use elastic, but this works. Also next time I will add fabric to the sides so the tape doesn’t lay flat when open, it will help keep everything contained. Add a strap, I wanted mine to look a little funky so I added pom-pom trim.

Overall I am happy with how this turned out, and I am excited to make improvements to version 2. What are you doing to up cycle your VHS tapes?

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DIY Harry Potter Drawstring Backpack

A trip to Universal Studios isn’t complete with out this DIY Harry Potter Drawstring Backpack!

Hello Everyone!

Next month we will have the opportunity to go to Universal Studios Hollywood!!! I am so excited! In great anticipation I decided to make a Harry Potter drawstring backpack that will be perfect to carry my wallet, camera, and sunglasses. I decided to use this simple design that I found on the internet. Everyone know what book this is in reference to without being to obvious, lol

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I hope your years is getting off to a great start. I am pretty excited because I have started on a project that I have been wanting to get started on for a long time. I got this huge stack of old t-shirts that had the wrong logo on them (this pic is only part of what I got). And since the shirts can’t be sold my friend gave them to me to make into yarn. This is not a new technique, but it is new to me and I am pretty excited in how it turned out. It is a perfect activity to do while I am watching TV. I am only part way through the stack, but eventually I will be done and then I am going to make rugs out of the yarn. Great way to upcycle old t-shirts and make something new.

I didn’t connect the balls of yarn to make one big ball because I am not sure if I am going to braid the rug or crochet it. (if I crochet the rug I will need to combine the yarn, if I braid it then I will need to sew together the strips.) Either way when I do the rug I will be sure to do a tutorial for you guys.

Here is how you turn in old t-shirt into yarn.

Materials

~Old T-shirt (make sure it is washed, if it is new this will take the sizing out and if it is from a thrift store it will make sure it is clean)

~ Scissors

~ ruler if you want, I didn’t use one but a ruler might make it easier to cut the strips.

Instructions

~ Lay the clean shirt on a flat surface. As you can see from the pics I am working on the floor, but that is just my preference. Make sure the shirt is flat and as smooth as possible.

~Cut the top off right under the sleeves. (I am keeping this top part, not sure what I am going to do with them but I just can’t throw it away) Then Cut off the bottom hem. (I threw that part away)

~ Then you want to cut the remaining shirt into strips. I cut mine about 1-1.5” wide.

***This is Important! Make sure you don’t cut all the way to the top! You will need this uncut area to make the yarn into one continuous length.

(This is what the top looks like with the uncut areas. You will cut it at an angle to make the strips, starting at the right end)

~ For this part refer to the pics, and please let me know if you have any questions.

To make the yarn cut off starting at the last strip and make an angle cut to the edge. Then cut the rest of the strips in an angle until you get to the end. I place the shirt on my arm and make the cuts on there, that just helps me keep track of were I need to go next.

~ Once you have cut the entire shirt you should have on long length of T-shirt Yarn. Then gently stretch the yarn and then wrap it into a ball. I made individual balls because I am not sure if I want to combine them into one length or not, but this way I am keeping it all nice and neat until I am ready to use it.

I know this may seem a little confusing, but I am here if you have any questions. Have any of you made t-shirt yarn before? I would love to some tips and tricks to make it better and or easier.

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Continuing with another DIY for my birthday dinner I will show you what I did to jazz up a simple t-shirt from Old Navy. I had this plain black shirt in my closet that I never wore. I have a lot of plain black shirts, but this one never called out to me choosing my outfit for the day. So I decided it was time to spruce it up with some lace. A very easy DIY that turned a boring shirt into something that I wear all the time.

Here is how you do it:

Materials:

~ pre-washed t-shirt (you want make sure it is washed first in case there is shrinkage) I got mine from Old Navy on clearance

~ lace

~ needle and thread, or sewing machine or glue

Instructions:

~ I wanted to try gluing the lace, I have never used this glue so I thought I would give it a try. I just glued the lace to the bottom of the shirt. The glue hold well and did wash well, but it took longer than sewing that is because I had to do it in sections and wait for each section to dry before I could move on to the next one.

~ Since my lace does not stretch I decided to start and stop the lace at the seams on the bottom, that is so there is stretch and movement. I am not sure this was necessary, but it worked for this shirt. There is a small gap on the sides of the shirt, but it look intentional.

~ I sewed the lace to the sleeves, this was easier and faster than gluing. Just take the lace and sew a straight seam around the sleeve. This shirt is more like a tank top so the lace only covers a small part of my shoulder.

I am loving how this turned out and I have worn it a few times since I make it. It can be dressed up for an evening out or dressed down for something more casual.

I think I have a few more shirts in my closet that might need a little TLC.

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